Arlington Hires New Town Counsel

The Town of Arlington has hired a new town counsel, Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine told the Board of Selectmen Monday.

Douglas Heim, currently an attorney for the Boston Public Schools, will take over the position in mid-December, according to Chapdelaine.

“We feel very good about this hire,” he said.

Chapdelaine said Heim is staying with the Boston Public Schools, his employer for about three years, until mid-December to complete an ongoing issue facing the district.

Selectman Diane Mahon said she respected Heim’s commitment to his current employer but raised concerns at the meeting that some town business may be stalling without a town counsel in place. Selectman Kevin Greeley shared her concerns, and the two discussed the possibility of hiring a freelance town counsel for one month. No decision on this matter was made Monday.

Arlington has not had a town counsel since Juliana Rice left the post in September to take a job as deputy chief of the state Attorney General’s Office’s Government Bureau.

Prior to working in Boston, Heim, who went to law school at the University of Connecticut, worked for the City of New York.

Heim was not present at Monday’s meeting.